Children in cancer treatment get diplomas at Hicksville school

On Wednesday, June 7, 2017, The Morgan Center held its 14th graduation and moving up ceremony at the Hicksville Athletic Center. The nonprofit preschool gives children with cancer the opportunity to learn and socialize in an environment that will not affect their compromised immune systems. (Credit: Newsday / Jeffrey Basinger)

“She should have been doing this anyway, and so this is almost like saying she’s normal,” said Ieraci, of Floral Park. “ . . . Just making it to [this] milestone, you know, you celebrate the wins.”

Nancy Zuch and her husband, Rod, opened the Morgan Center in 2003, after more than 2 1⁄2 years of chemotherapy treatment left their daughter Morgan, now 18, with a suppressed immune system. During that time, Morgan could not attend school and be exposed to the germs present in classrooms, so “she was either home or at the hospital,” Zuch said.

The Morgan Center aims to allow kids with cancer to learn and socialize in a safe and clean environment, she said, giving them “a part of their childhood that Morgan did not have.”

Morgan Center preschooler Isabella is escorted by Morgan Zuch, the person the center is named after, during their 14th Graduation and Moving Up Ceremony for children undergoing treatment for cancer at the Hicksville Athletic Center in Hicksville June 7, 2017. Photo Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.

The center celebrated its 14th graduation and “moving up” ceremony Wednesday in the Hicksville Athletic Center. About 15 students in the class of 2017 performed songs with their music teacher before receiving a diploma and taking photos. Some students will be returning to the center next year, while others are now healthy enough to attend kindergarten or other schools.

“For other families, this is just a normal day,” Zuch said. “And for these families, they’re so appreciative to be here.”

Michael Singh’s two sons, King and Mesiah, both attend the Morgan Center and participated in Wednesday’s ceremony. King, 3, has high-risk leukemia and a compromised immune system, and his 2-year-old brother can’t go to “regular school” in case he brings germs home, Singh said.

The Queens Village resident called the Morgan Center “a blessing.”

“Cancer takes a lot away from the families, and this gives back something that we appreciate so much,” he said.

Morgan Center preschooler Mesiah receives a medal and diploma from school co-founder Nancy Zuch and daughter Morgan during the 14th Graduation and Moving Up ceremony for children undergoing treatment for cancer at the Hicksville Athletic Center in Hicksville, Wednesday, June 7, 2017. Photo Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.

Maryellen Borghese’s daughter Annie, now 15, attended the Morgan Center while she received treatment for high-risk leukemia as a preschooler.